How Higher Ed Leaders Can Manage Campus Policing

Title: Campus Policing: A Guide for Higher Education Leaders

Authors: Jude Paul Matias Dizon, Maritza E. Salazar, Elif Yucel, and Edgar Fidel Lopez

Source: University of Southern California Pullias Center for Higher Education

Increased attention to police brutality and violence against Black Americans in recent years has led to an uptick in student-led activism on college campuses. In response, the University of Southern California Pullias Center for Higher Education released a guide for institutional leaders on managing campus policing.

The report provides a brief overview of the historical context of campus policing. Key facts around the current police force on campuses include:

• Campus police often respond, patrol, and arrest beyond campus boundaries given that many campuses are embedded within communities.
• A majority of students (75 percent), especially those from minoritized communities, noted racial profiling on campus and said they did not feel safe with campus police permitted to carry firearms.
• The involvement of police on campus was shown to directly impact campus climate.

The report provides questions for institutional decision-makers and other stakeholders to consider as they respond to student demands for a safe and inclusive campus environment. Recommendations around policing acknowledge the complexities of managing legal mandates and encourage leaders to examine “gray areas” as a way to embed race-conscious approaches to policing on campus.

Read the full report here.

—Ángel Gonzalez